Burning Essence
by Anime Wind
Summary: The Final Battle goes awry when Naraku uses the Shikon no Tama to steal the power of an immortal. With absolutely no hope left, Inuyasha and the gang must find the secret to separating Naraku from his new power...and saving the world...


Guess I finally will write this thing… Time for Anime Wind to rise to fame with a new story, that will not be taken over by…let's not say. Anyway, I can only say, review, tell me what you think of it.

* * *

Burning Essence Ch1: Ascend to the Divine

The final battle was coming to a close. Naraku was being torn to pieces by Inuyasha's cutting Meidou, and Kagome cocked back an arrow. Somehow, Naraku remained calm throughout the situation. Kagome, however, wouldn't stand for it.

"You should be more worried about this, Naraku. After so long, you finally die!"

Kagome shot her arrow, and it was immediately bathed in an intense pink light as it floated towards the black Shikon no Tama. Naraku smiled as his right hand appeared with an ancient glyph imprinted on it. As the arrow hit the jewel, purifying it, the glyph began to expand into a black hole, similar to a Meidou Zangetsuha. As the darkness expanded to Inuyasha and the others, Naraku began to chuckle.

"Kukuku…Nice shot Kagome, but too bad for you this jewel will not be pure for long…"

As the jewel's pink light began to vanish into darkness, the entire area was absorbed by the black hole-like energy portal. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome's eyes all went into what seemed never ending darkness…

* * *

_Minutes later…_

Shippou, Kohaku, and Kirara all awoke in a daze. They looked at the landscape outside Kaede's village, only to see that nothing was there. No Naraku, no Inuyasha, no one was there. Even the grass had vanished to reveal a barren landscape devoid of any sign of life.

"Kohaku-san, what happened?"

Shippou's words weren't answered as the two boys stared in disbelief at the scene…

* * *

_With Inuyasha…_

Inuyasha awoke in a daze as the glaring sun beamed on his face. His vision cleared to show that Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were also awakening. He quickly surveyed the landscape, only to find out that all of his senses were dulled. He then turned towards his human companions, only to see pure surprise on all of their faces.

"What the hell are you all starin' at?"

"Inuyasha…you're…you're…"

"Spit it out, houshi."

"You're…a mortal."

"You lying bastard! It's daytime! There's no way that I can be mortal!"

"Check your head."

Inuyasha placed his hands on the top of his head defiantly, only to find out that he had no ears there. He then checked his hands for claws, only to see none. The final revelation came when he saw his black hair flowing freely.

"How…how is this possible?"

"I think I can explain that."

All of the mortals looked towards the distant voice, only to see Naraku floating above them, holding the pure Shikon no Tama in his hand.

"Naraku, you bastard."

"Well, I never thought the transition would be extreme, but I guess that this was an unexpected variable in my plan."

"Shut up and tell us where we are!"

Naraku laughed at Inuyasha's pathetic attempt to intimidate him. He decided to humor his sworn enemies for once and tell them their current location.

"I tell you, if only to show you how powerful I have become. To put it simply, Inuyasha, we are in one of the many provinces of Heaven. To be more specific, we are in the Domain of Balance."

Miroku's eyes widened at the startling piece of information. His mouth opened, barely conceiving enough words to be understood.

"The…the Domain of Balance….impossible…"

"What's here, houshi-sama?"

Miroku regained his composure before answering Sango.

"To be more specific, it's _who's_ here. This is the area of Heaven set aside for the Immortal Spirit of Yin and the Immortal Spirit of Yang. This place is supposed to only exist in rumors and bedtime stories."

"So can you explain why I'm mortal?"

"I truly don't know, Inuyasha."

Naraku laughed at their ignorance, which was really starting to annoy them.

"Why are you laughing, you evil snake?"

"Because, my dear Sango, no taint can enter the realms of Heaven. I am protected by the Shikon no Tama, or else I would revert to the form of Onigumo. No youki can pass through the barrier of Heaven without something pure covering it. Sadly, in order to carry out my plan, I had to give up my hold of the houshi."

Miroku now sported a puzzled look on his face until he took a glance at his right hand.

"The Kazaana…it's gone…"

"Yes, celebrate that my spell has been broken, for now. I have something…more in store for you four. Kukukukuku…."

As Naraku chuckled, two columns of light, one white and one black, appeared next to Naraku. Two cloaked figures appeared, each one's cloak matching the column of light it emerged from.

"**Who dares to enter the Domain of Balance! Reveal yourself, and face the wrath of Ranpu and Yami, the Immortal Spirits of Yin and Yang!**"

Naraku held out his hand towards the black cloaked figure, the one known as Yami, with the purified Shikon no Tama glowing within it. Naraku's smile turned into an outright maniacal grin as he slammed the jewel into the immortal's neck.

"**What…is…the…meaning…of this?**"

"Now Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku, witness as I, Naraku, commit the most evil sin that will bathe the Shikon no Tama in sweet darkness for all of eternity!"

The Shikon no Tama instantly turned black as the Immortal Spirit of Yin began to fade. His companion found himself unable to stop this. If he interfered, all it would do is transfer even more power to the corrupt demon.

"I, Naraku, have corrupted one of the **IMMORTAL**!"

The Spirit of Yin began to scream so loudly, it could even be heard pass the fragile area where the barrier had been broken. Inuyasha and co. could watch with barely concealed tears as one of the forces behind all beings was dragged into the corrupt Shikon no Tama.

Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped. The Spirit of Yin was gone, and its power was assimilated into the corrupt Shikon no Tama. Naraku then took the opportunity to fuse himself with the Shikon no Tama, which caused the very fabric of reality to be twisted, with his evil laughter piercing through the barriers between worlds_…_

* * *

_With Shippou and Kohaku__…_

The two boys had been sitting for half an hour when a piercing, malicious laughter filled the air. Startled, they looked around to see that no one was within five hundred feet of them.

"Kohaku-san, I have a bad feeling about this..."

* * *

_With Sesshoumaru__…_

The Lord of the Western Lands stopped moving as soon as Naraku's evil laughter filled his ears.

'So, it would seem that Naraku has acheived whatever power he was craving for. He had better hope it is enough to stop me.'

* * *

_With Inuyasha and co__…_

Naraku's laughter began to die down as his body began to turn completely black and a white dot appeared on his forehead, signifying his status above his enemies.

"**Now, I am Naraku, the Immortal Spirit of Yin**! **And you will die, now Inuyasha**!"

"_Not if I have anything to say about it._"

Ranpu, the Spirit of Yang, began to glow a bright white, which countered Naraku's new power. Soon, Naraku was completely overpowered and vanished into nothingness.

"Even as an immortal, he still lost."

"_No you fools_! _You must leave immediately_! _The one you know as Naraku is not dead, just subdued temporarily. My experience gives me an advantage for another 10,000 years, but he may materialize at any time, and anywhere in this realm. I can only protect you for so long._"

"If he can appear anywhere here, what's stopping him from coming to the mortal realm to kill us?"

"_Me. Without me, or a special ritual, he can't come directly to your realm. Beware, he _can _grant power to those who follow him, and they _will_ be powerful. But they are not immortal. _He_ is now, you must hurry and leave_!"

Following Ranpu's words, Inuyasha and co. jumped through a portal created for them. As the last piece of matter vanished into the mortal realm, Naraku appeared once more.

"**So, you allowed them escape, Ranpu-sama. No matter, I know that I cannot leave this realm at the moment, but I already have another plan in the works. Inuyasha and his friends will see what it is like to face a force of nature, literally.**"

Naraku's laughter was quieter, but still prominent throughout the realm…

* * *

_Mortal Realm, with Shippou and Kohaku…_

It had been nearly an hour since Inuyasha and the others had vanished into thin air. Sesshoumaru was coming in from the distance, but the two boys' attention was on the portal that appeared in front of them suddenly. Both of them rushed the four of them, while Sesshoumaru waited silently in the background. As they came to, Shippou asked them the taboo question of the moment.

"Kagome-chan! Did you finally get rid of Naraku once and for all?"

All four of them looked down instantly, in either disgust or sorrow. They trudged their way towards Kaede's hut without a word, or even a change of emotion. Shippou's bright mood went away in an instant.

"What happened? You didn't defeat him?"

"No, and because of that….he's stronger than ever…"

* * *

I'll end it there. I know this seems a little choppy and cheap in some places, but Naraku's assimilation of an immortal being has been in my head, along with my cousin's, since we beat Jade Empire and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

By the way, I will not have any major, story changing romance scenes in this. Yes, there will be more romance than just fluff every once in a while, but I'm not going outside the guidelines of canon on those. Also, OC's will be present, and two will be main characters. They won't join up with Inuyasha and co. or have some weird unknown relation to them, but they will serve as important plot elements.


End file.
